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God Is a Free Trader
Tuesday, April 13th, 2004Had a TV interview today on outsourcing with, believe it or not, The 700 Club. Actually, CBN.
Should air sometime next week.
18 Responses to “God Is a Free Trader”
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Did CBN interview God, or you?
Ewe. You agreed to be on the 700Club? You are a bottom feeder aren’t you?
Sign of the apocalypse #421, when Radley Balko appears on the 700 Club. I can’t wait.
Is free trade really “free?” I mean, with all the government subsidies that go into it to make sure it happens.
For example, look at what makes international trade, as it stands today, feasible/possible. The basis for international trade and globalization is cheap abundant fossil fuel. How else could people afford stuff grown in Brazil made in China and sold on my street? How far does the average meal travel before it hits your plate? How much does our government spend to make sure we can buy gas and do the things we do at rock bottom prices?
Are there not fundamental problems people aren’t addressing? What happens when gas goes to 5 bucks/gallon? Or it is no longer profitable to produce a barrel of crude. I mean besides invading Saudi Arabia.
Balko is using two of the smartest Christian axioms:
“He who is not against us is for us.”
“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”
http://www.no-treason.com/comments.php?id=P699_0_1_0
- Josh
- Josh
I didn’t realize there was such a thing as christian wisdom.
Adam S:
It is true … government does take action to facilitate free trade.
However, that action is not “free”. We still pay the costs of such action, albeit indirectly.
That is not necessarily bad … for some of those “subsidies” involve building and maintaining the “commons” of infrastructure (roads, bridges, waterways, a monetary system, law enforcement, national defense) that historically have been handled better by government than by the private sector … generally, areas where one-size-fits-all solutions provide acceptable performance to the users.
It is when government sticks its nose into areas that are not one-size-fits-all … areas that require thought and action that must be different for each “user” … that the trouble starts — especially in a rights-respecting society like ours, where the government is expected to treat everyone the same, in the name of “fairness”.
That is why command economies do not work — there are too many variables, too few people in control, too many points where human error can enter into the system, and inadequate corrective feedback (in terms of speed and/or strength) to effectively and efficiently make the choices necessary to meet individual needs in such a centrally-controlled system.
The great debate is — in order to establish and maintain a society where our ability to realize our full potential as individuals is maximized:
> What areas are best managed by government action?
> What areas are best managed by private individuals?
The goal must be kept in mind — to maximize our ability as INDIVIDUALS to reach our full potential — because human nature will inherently strive against a collective solution that benefits the whole at the expense of the individual. We need systems that work synergetically WITH human nature, both reinforcing its good qualities and discouraging its bad qualities.
The balance lies somewhere between oppressive collectivism … where you are not free … and anarchy … where you are not safe.
BTW, Adam S. — there are many people working on our energy — and other — problems we are facing.
However, much of this work has not produced solutions that are better, overall, than what we already have.
Particularly when it comes to technology, the devil is in the details … and the details are usually either laws-of-physics limitations, or the imposition of unreasonable requirements on the technology.
For instance, pure-electric vehicle technology has technical limitations that presently lead to vehicles that do not meet the economic and time-management needs of Americans (i.e. most Americans can’t afford separate automobiles for commuting and long-distance travel, not enough mileage between “fillups”, and a “fillup” takes hours).
However, the idealistic desire for zero emissions has driven California (and perhaps other local and state governments) to mandate fleet percentages of pure-EV’s, in total ignorance of the technical limitations … and ignorance of the practical alternatives (hybrids, ultra-low-emission gas engines) that would better meet the needs of their people.
Actually, I don’t consider the technology limitations we face to be the greater problem, for human ingenuity will eventually triumph and produce workable solutions.
Our greater problem is the misapplication of idealism … instead of a rational consideration of the costs, risks, and benefits of the choices we have … in public policy.
Cool…maybe you’ll meet a hot chick in makeup.
:)
or not
haha, chuckling ms. dani, i agree with a comment made earlier, i like the vervor in you lately, and you have good humor. btw, if i ask very nicely maybe i know your first name one day? i’ve been wanting to ask for weeks. if you feel inclined to tell me i still call you by the respected/preferred noun of course. i’m going to guess…something flowing and pretty and like your last name ending maybe in a vowel. melissa?bethany?
radley, tell me more about what you talk about in your interview on 700 club? i would like a transcript pls. what time is the 700 club on anyway? michelle
michelle, I have the fortune of sharing your name inbetween my first and last. My first being Danielle, but my friends call me Dani. I’ve been feeling a bit more humorous lately. Must be the beautiful weather we’ve been having.
ahhhh, ok…so dani is not your last name, you go by nickname bestowed by friends, abbreviation of your first? i would have never guessed! here i was thinking you are italian! that is a good nickname, i like it. my friends follow similar pattern, my nickname is mich (like mish). yes i think spring is finally here, and with it warm sunny days, dogwood trees and….tulips. my fave flower. i am so pleased you shared with me, thanks! michelle
you’re so sweet! we’d better stop. I think we’re running everyone off the blog. happy day!
All I’m saying is the current economic development based on the suburban model will end once iresources become too expensive. You can fairly easily argue that our economy is based on the development and accessorizing of this growth pattern. Our current “infrastructure” will no longer be relevant once oil becomes too expensive to produce. The same goes for our global economy. One size does not fit all even in some larger situations.
Oil will dry up. A natural gas crisis should be upon us soon. The sun doesn’t shine enough for our current needs; nor does the wind blow strong enough. Food should not be wasted as biomass for our obscene energy demands, let alone our insane meat “needs”. The hydrogen economy doesn’t add up. Nuclear is not feasible, and any current proposals for new nuclear facilities shows you how myopic and inept the people in charge are: we have a hard enough time defending our current nuclear facilities and their spent rods, how will we defend more?
It looks like our society is going to have to suck it up and learn how to live locally at a much smaller scale.
And about our inate human behaviors (good or bad): yes they are intrinsic, but I’ll be damned if our evolution stopped with us growing thumbs.
Haha and yes I just wrote “spent rods.” Sorry I couldn’t help myself.
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